The sister of one of the Gilgo Beach murder victims has detailed the disturbing phone calls she received from serial killer Rex Heuermann shortly after her older sister, Melissa Barthelemy, vanished in 2009. Amanda Barthelemy, then 15, recounted how a stranger used her sister's phone to taunt her, describe her murder, and reveal details that haunted her for 14 years until Heuermann's arrest.
Melissa Barthelemy, 24, was last seen on July 10, 2009. Her family, including Amanda, reported her missing after she failed to contact them, which was highly uncharacteristic. A week after Melissa's disappearance, Amanda received a call on her sister's phone. Expecting to hear from Melissa, Amanda instead heard a stranger's voice. "It was not my sister," Amanda told the Daily Mail. The caller, with a hint of a New York accent, taunted the then-15-year-old Amanda, disparaged her sister, and hinted at dark intentions.
Over the following five weeks, Amanda received four more calls from Melissa's phone. The caller's demeanor grew more menacing, and his questions became more pointed, asking if Amanda knew her sister's profession and if she, too, would become a "whore." He also made a racist remark, referring to Amanda as a "half breed," leading her to believe he had seen photos of her on Melissa's phone. Amanda noted the caller seemed to be trying to disguise his voice, but a single utterance of the word "whore" betrayed his New York accent.
In the final call on August 26, 2009, the perpetrator confessed to raping and murdering Melissa, stating, "you should have seen the look on her face when I did those things." He also ominously added, "I'm going to let her body rot, and maybe one day I'll come show you." These words confirmed Amanda's worst fears, and she had to relay this information to her mother.
Melissa Barthelemy's remains were discovered over a year later, on December 11, 2010, along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach. She was one of 11 victims found in the area over a roughly 10-mile stretch, with killings spanning from 1993 to 2010. The discovery led authorities to realize a serial killer was active, but Heuermann evaded capture for another 13 years.
The trauma of her sister's murder and the fear instilled by the phone calls profoundly impacted Amanda's teenage years. She described constant sadness, anger, short temper, and an inability to focus in high school, often staring at her phone, waiting for it to ring. The veiled threats left her constantly on edge, fearing for her own safety and becoming anxious about everyday activities like walking alone or being home by herself.
Heuermann, an architect and father of two living in Massapequa Park, Long Island, was arrested on July 13, 2023, nearly 14 years to the day Melissa Barthelemy was last seen. Amanda recognized Heuermann's voice from a YouTube video of him speaking about his work, confirming he was the man who had tormented her as a child. "It was a voice I hadn’t heard in almost 14 years – but one that she could never forget," she said. "His voice was just the same."
Cell phone data proved crucial in connecting Heuermann to the murders. Data showed that Melissa's phone was within proximity to Heuermann's office when the taunting calls were made, and Heuermann's personal cell phone was in the same location. Investigators also found Heuermann's DNA and hairs from his family on the victims. In April, Heuermann pleaded guilty to seven murders and admitted to an eighth, that of Karen Vergata, for which he had not been formally charged. Amanda, however, believes there may be other victims whose cases have yet to be linked to Heuermann.